Notching up five wins in the first race of his professional career (the Tour de Langkawi) and then confirming his speed with a stage victory in a race with some of the world’s fastest riders taking part (the Tour of Qatar), it seems certain that the talented 21 year old Italian sprinter Andrea Guardini is destined for big things.
In fact, Guardini’s win rate as a young rider is akin to that of Mark Cavendish who, at the same age, picked up eleven wins in his debut season of 2007. The Italian is still five wins short of that record, but has many months ahead to chase that mark.
Similar in build to the Manxman, comparisons are inevitable. That might put pressure on Guardini, but his Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli directeur sportif doesn’t hesitate to further underline his potential. “Everyone was surprised by the six victories of Guardini this season, all but me,” said Luca Scinto, according to Tuttobici. “And I will go further: I’m announcing that in three years, he will be the best sprinter in the world.”
Guardini is, of course, wary about expectations being raised so much that he’s under an inordinate amount of pressure. He’s encouraged by what is said, but doesn’t want to promise he’ll beat the best.
"I expected to win, but not so much. Luca said important words for me, and I hope he's right,” he said. “But am I the new Cavendish? Let's stop kidding ..."
In considering his six wins, it is inevitable that the lack of ProTeams in the Tour de Langkawi will be mentioned. However his success on the final stage of the Tour de Qatar, where he beat Francesco Chicchi (Quick Step), Theo Bos (Rabobank) and the rest of the peloton to the line, underlines his speed. There’s every chance he’ll clock up more wins between now and the end of the season; it remains to be seen if he can approach Cavendish’s sprint record of eleven wins for a neo pro.